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Donald Trump’s ban on Muslim immigrants draws flak

Donald Trump on Saturday (28/01/2017) listed seven Muslim nations from which people would not be allowed to enter the USA. This move by the US president has drawn severe flak from US’s tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook etcetera. Most of the ‘C’ level executives of these companies have condemned Donald Trump’s move. They include Indian CEOs like Google’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella. The tech companies in the US said that this move could stop bringing great talent to the US and directly impact the quality of their staff force. Read more on CEOs

“It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues. We’re upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US”, Sundar Pichai said.

Donald Trump on 28th signed an executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as part of new measures to ‘keep radical Islamic terrorists’ out of America.

Condemning the move, Sathya Nadella on LinkedIn commented, “As an immigrant and as a CEO, I’ve both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country and for the world. We will continue to advocate on this important topic”.

Microsoft President, Brad Smith said as many as 76 Microsoft employees are affected by this new executive order.

Part of Mark Zuckerberg’s comment is, “We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don’t pose a threat will live in the fear of deportation”.

Mark Zuckerberg said America should be proud to be a nation of immigrants and that it should continue to accept refugees who might add great value to America.

“My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla’s parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants and we should be proud of that. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla’s family wouldn’t be here today”, Mark Zuckerberg commented.

Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey also condemned the immigration order.

“The Executive Order’s humanitarian and economic impact is real and upsetting. We benefit from what refugees and immigrants bring to the U.S.”, Jack Dorsey said.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook also expressed concern over the order’s impact and added that his company’s success is because of immigrants.

“I’ve heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued, restricting immigration from seven Muslim – majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support. There are employees at Apple who are directly affected by the immigration order. Our HR, Legal and Security teams are in contact with them and Apple will do everything to support them”, Tim Cook said.

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We have to agree with Mark Zuckerberg and many other prominent C level executives that banning Muslim immigrants from entering America is NOT the best way to address safety issues in the country. Like Mark said, only those people, who are linked to terrorists, actually pose a threat and they alone should be tracked down and dealt with severely. Taking a generic action like this has two major drawbacks. They are:

It will lead to loss of allies to the US which means no security co – operation in the wake of an attack by terrorists or other sources on the US.

Many top technological companies in the US, temporarily have their top level employees (Muslim and other religions’ employees) abroad (in their home (Muslim) countries). If they are not allowed to re – enter the US, the Companies’ productivity will be negatively affected, leading to loss of revenue and eventually, loss of jobs and quality of life.

Many roadside restaurants in the US have Muslim employees working for them for low wages. If they are deported from the country, the local people can ask for substantially more minimum wages thereby leading to reduced profits for the businesses or sometimes even a financial loss for the businesses. Donald Trump should realize the consequences of his move and take corrective action soon. Read more on Startup News

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